Ever since I decided that I wanted to become a teacher I have put a great deal of thought into the type of teacher that I want to become. By this I mean that I have gradually formulated my own teaching philosophy. By incorporating certain characteristics and strategies from teachers that I have had throughout my education career as well as my own ideas about teaching, I have developed an image in my mind of who I want to be as a teacher and how I want to teach. I have thought long and hard about the major principles and ideas that will be central to this philosophy. This is an incredibly important idea to consider as I am coming closer and closer to entering the teaching profession and beginning my career. My teaching philosophy in many ways can be viewed as a "wall" in which the first row of bricks are the fundamental goals of my teaching, the second row involves the enjoyment of my students, and the third refers to the skills that I hope for all of my students to master.
My teaching philosophy begins with the basic principles that I feel are fundamental to any successful science classroom and this forms the foundation on which all other learning is built. Primarily, I want to ensure that all of my students know how science relates to the real world as well as to their own lives. This helps them recognize the importance of the subject matter and the breadth of what they are learning. Many times science classrooms seem disconnected from "real" science and I want to bridge this gap. To do this I will incorporate inquiry based learning and other hands-on investigations to simulate for my students how science works and how scientists develop procedures to find out more about this confusing world that we live in. I will have them engage in the scientific process from the very beginning "planning" stages to the actual investigation. They will come to see how much there still is to learn about the world. I will also incorporate current scientific issues that are occuring in the real world. I want to bring in newspaper and journal articles to demonstrate to the students that science is ever changing and that new theories are being developed even today.
This segues nicely into the next principle that helps to form the foundation of my philosophy. I want to focus on helping my students become curious, lifelong learners. Many students lack the motivation and desire to learn and I want to reignite the curiosity that they once had as children exploring the world around them. I want to show them how rewarding learning can be and how the process of learning is never-ending. To do this I will base my classes around the group of students that I have for that given year. I won't simply use the same instructional materials year after year but rather I'll adapt my curriculum to make sure that all of my students are excited about learning science. I will pose interesting questions for them to ponder and attempt to spark their curiosity. I will also model this "curious learner" behavior by being curious myself. I will show them that I am far from being done with learning and that there are many things in this world that I am curious about and want to find out more about. I also want them to realize that learning is not something that is just done within the confines of their school but it happens each and every day. These ideas and principles are entirely central to my philosophy of teaching.
With that being said, my next priority is ensuring that my students enjoy being in my class. I want them to be excited about coming to physics class and learning about why things in this world happen the way that they do. I want all of my students to discover the beauty of physics and come to share my passion for the subject. I will accomplish this by incorporating a great deal of hands-on, real world, and inquiry based activities that will keep my students be engaged in each and every lesson. I don’t want to resort to direct-instruction for every lesson and I want to be sure to differentiate my instruction on a regular basis. I will incorporate group work, independent investigations, class challenges, outdoor physics activities as well as other traditional lessons into my teaching. In this way my lessons will be beneficial for the visual learners, the kinesthetic learners, and all other types of learners that I may see within my classroom. I will also create a learning environment that is not stressful for my students. I don't want them to feel pressured in my class or competitive with one another. I want them to feel as though they can take chances and risks in my classroom without fear of failing. This will help them enjoy their experience more fully. I also feel that student enjoyment is directly related to teacher enjoyment. For this reason I want to make sure that my students know that I am extremely passionate about the subject of physics and about teaching. I don’t think that students can learn from a teacher who is not excited about the subject that they are teaching and so I want to make sure that I let my passion and excitement shine through. This should not be a problem for me because of the genuine passion that I truly have for teaching physics.
Finally, beyond making sure that my students enjoy learning in my classroom there are several important skills that I would like for each and every student to develop. I want to make sure that my students develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. I am less concerned with their memorization of facts than with their development of skills. 10 years after taking my class most students won’t be able to recall certain definitions but I want them to be able to remember the problem solving strategies that they fully developed as my students. To help them develop these skills I will challenge them! I will present problems for them to solve on their own or in groups that will certainly lead them into a state of disequilibrium. They may feel lost and frustrated but I will make sure that the task is within their zone of proximal development. They will have to use their problem solving skills to "find their way out" and figure out how to solve the problem. Without challenging my students I wouldn't be giving them any opportunities to truly grow as intellectuals. I also want my students to learn to work together and use one another as resources for learning and growing intellectually. People work together on a regular basis in the real world and I think that it is important for students to learn to collaborate with one another. When they eventually start a career, these skills will be very helpful for them to have. I also want to teach my students to be organized learners. In order to do this I will teach them study skills and will model proper organizational strategies. I want to be an incredibly organized teacher and I want all of my students to model after me.
These ideas and principles all come together to form my overall teaching philosophy. My first concern is making sure that all of my students understand how science relates to their own lives and eventually become curious learners who are excited to learn. My next priority is creating a learning environment in which my students enjoy being in. The final priority that I have as a teacher is ensuring the my students develop problem solving and interpersonal skills. If I can develop a class full of students who clearly see where science fits in to the real world and are curious to learn more and broaden there horizons then I will feel as though I was successful. Becoming a lifelong learner who actually wants to learn is far more important than memorizing specific facts for a given class. I want them to leave my class with more than just a set of skills; I want them to leave with a new intrinsic motivation to grow intellectually and become successful members of our society. I am very excited to become a teacher and implement these strategies within my future classroom!
My teaching philosophy begins with the basic principles that I feel are fundamental to any successful science classroom and this forms the foundation on which all other learning is built. Primarily, I want to ensure that all of my students know how science relates to the real world as well as to their own lives. This helps them recognize the importance of the subject matter and the breadth of what they are learning. Many times science classrooms seem disconnected from "real" science and I want to bridge this gap. To do this I will incorporate inquiry based learning and other hands-on investigations to simulate for my students how science works and how scientists develop procedures to find out more about this confusing world that we live in. I will have them engage in the scientific process from the very beginning "planning" stages to the actual investigation. They will come to see how much there still is to learn about the world. I will also incorporate current scientific issues that are occuring in the real world. I want to bring in newspaper and journal articles to demonstrate to the students that science is ever changing and that new theories are being developed even today.
This segues nicely into the next principle that helps to form the foundation of my philosophy. I want to focus on helping my students become curious, lifelong learners. Many students lack the motivation and desire to learn and I want to reignite the curiosity that they once had as children exploring the world around them. I want to show them how rewarding learning can be and how the process of learning is never-ending. To do this I will base my classes around the group of students that I have for that given year. I won't simply use the same instructional materials year after year but rather I'll adapt my curriculum to make sure that all of my students are excited about learning science. I will pose interesting questions for them to ponder and attempt to spark their curiosity. I will also model this "curious learner" behavior by being curious myself. I will show them that I am far from being done with learning and that there are many things in this world that I am curious about and want to find out more about. I also want them to realize that learning is not something that is just done within the confines of their school but it happens each and every day. These ideas and principles are entirely central to my philosophy of teaching.
With that being said, my next priority is ensuring that my students enjoy being in my class. I want them to be excited about coming to physics class and learning about why things in this world happen the way that they do. I want all of my students to discover the beauty of physics and come to share my passion for the subject. I will accomplish this by incorporating a great deal of hands-on, real world, and inquiry based activities that will keep my students be engaged in each and every lesson. I don’t want to resort to direct-instruction for every lesson and I want to be sure to differentiate my instruction on a regular basis. I will incorporate group work, independent investigations, class challenges, outdoor physics activities as well as other traditional lessons into my teaching. In this way my lessons will be beneficial for the visual learners, the kinesthetic learners, and all other types of learners that I may see within my classroom. I will also create a learning environment that is not stressful for my students. I don't want them to feel pressured in my class or competitive with one another. I want them to feel as though they can take chances and risks in my classroom without fear of failing. This will help them enjoy their experience more fully. I also feel that student enjoyment is directly related to teacher enjoyment. For this reason I want to make sure that my students know that I am extremely passionate about the subject of physics and about teaching. I don’t think that students can learn from a teacher who is not excited about the subject that they are teaching and so I want to make sure that I let my passion and excitement shine through. This should not be a problem for me because of the genuine passion that I truly have for teaching physics.
Finally, beyond making sure that my students enjoy learning in my classroom there are several important skills that I would like for each and every student to develop. I want to make sure that my students develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. I am less concerned with their memorization of facts than with their development of skills. 10 years after taking my class most students won’t be able to recall certain definitions but I want them to be able to remember the problem solving strategies that they fully developed as my students. To help them develop these skills I will challenge them! I will present problems for them to solve on their own or in groups that will certainly lead them into a state of disequilibrium. They may feel lost and frustrated but I will make sure that the task is within their zone of proximal development. They will have to use their problem solving skills to "find their way out" and figure out how to solve the problem. Without challenging my students I wouldn't be giving them any opportunities to truly grow as intellectuals. I also want my students to learn to work together and use one another as resources for learning and growing intellectually. People work together on a regular basis in the real world and I think that it is important for students to learn to collaborate with one another. When they eventually start a career, these skills will be very helpful for them to have. I also want to teach my students to be organized learners. In order to do this I will teach them study skills and will model proper organizational strategies. I want to be an incredibly organized teacher and I want all of my students to model after me.
These ideas and principles all come together to form my overall teaching philosophy. My first concern is making sure that all of my students understand how science relates to their own lives and eventually become curious learners who are excited to learn. My next priority is creating a learning environment in which my students enjoy being in. The final priority that I have as a teacher is ensuring the my students develop problem solving and interpersonal skills. If I can develop a class full of students who clearly see where science fits in to the real world and are curious to learn more and broaden there horizons then I will feel as though I was successful. Becoming a lifelong learner who actually wants to learn is far more important than memorizing specific facts for a given class. I want them to leave my class with more than just a set of skills; I want them to leave with a new intrinsic motivation to grow intellectually and become successful members of our society. I am very excited to become a teacher and implement these strategies within my future classroom!